My boyfriend and I stayed for one week at the Viva Wyndham Samana from Feb. 20th to Feb. 27th and let me just say that it was the best week of my life.

We visited this site a few times before leaving so I had an idea of what sort of things to look out for: e.g. no hot water, gross food, bugs, etc.

But let me just say that when we got there, pretty much everything we'd read on here was false! I don't know why people are complaining so much. We were told the resort was four stars, and I completely agree with that rating.

The ride from the airport in Samana to the hotel took a little over a hour. We drove on a bus through the mountains where the view is absolutely breathtaking. A little bit scary as we learned that there are no laws for driving in Samana... but we made it safe and sound.

The room was clean and the maid came every day and filled the fridge with water bottles and pop. There was always fresh towels. The bed was a king-sized bed (which is actually two smaller mattresses put together, but we never had a problem with that.) Sure, there were a few bugs crawling around but I didn't feel it was a problem, to be honest it's not like Canada doesn't have bugs too!

I read on here some people were complaining about the temperature of the water in the shower. I never had a problem getting hot water. Sure the temperature would fluctuate from hot to cold, as it does in any normal shower, and that to me was not a problem. Unless you're spending all day in the shower, why would it be?

The food was great. Every night at the buffet there was a different "theme" of mexican, italian, etc. Some nights there were even drinks to try, like martinis, pina coladas in a coconut, etc.
There's two bars, one near the pool and one on the beach. The menu is a little limited but we tried almost everything on there at least once. The Dominicans sure love their rum!

The a la carte restauraunts were yummy too. You have to make your reservations at least two days in advance and they do fill up quickly so make them as soon as you can! One thing to keep in mind though: the buffet doesn't open until 7 p.m. so make sure that you fill up at lunch if you usually eat dinner early.

The beach was definitley the highlight of the trip. It was gorgeous. The waves were really high a lot of the time but that didn't stop us! We went right in and played in the waves. The one thing I could say about the beach though is that despite the fact that there are like a hundred yellow beach chairs they always seem to fill up fast, with people leaving their towels on the chair so you never know if it's taken or not. But that didn't stop us from finding at least one chair to leave our stuff on when we wanted to go swimming in the ocean.

And, If you want to you can walk off the hotel property and walk along the coast, where you will see clear blue water and stunning palm trees. There wasn't anyone around, it was like we had the entire coast to ourself!

The excursions were also amazing. We went whale watching and to Los Haites (a natural park). The guides speak multi languages so we never had a problem with translation. Many people in Samana understand french a lot better than english so if you can speak/understand french it will help, but even if you don't that's okay too.

The workers at the hotel were very nice. They always tried their best to help you out whenever they can. Most of them speak English, and if you can learn a few basic spanish words before you go (like please, thank you, etc) then you'll get by just fine.

I honestly can't think of anything bad to say about this place except that the trip didn't last long enough!!! I reccommend this resort, and I would definitley go back.

We just got back from the Viva Wyndham Samana on the 16 of January. Were to begin...

We went to this place with an open mind after reading some reviews i have to agree with some...

The bus ride to and from the airport was alot longer than we thought it was going to be, the road that is only 40 min away from resort the bus drivers refused to drive on. So the detour took us an hour and a half longer.

The food was alittle gross... we lived on bread, pineapple (some of the best i've ever had) and pasta. There were some night that the buffet was ok... The a la carte were not the best.. at the Italian one it was quite funny we order a Greek salad... when we got it, it contained one leaf of lettuce 3 slices of cheese and some type of meat and some red peppers (i think). I found the whole thing kinda funny, but my friends didnt.

The thing i found most frustrating was the lack of hot water.. I never realized how much a hot shower ment to me... i know it doesnt sound like a big deal but when you've spent all day down at the beach you just want to come back to your room and wash the salt off with some warm water...

The Beach was nice... but there were LOTS of waves they never stopped... we broght floatiees (inflatable rings) with us. That made it easier to go into the water. You could have used Boogie Boards we tried to get them a few time but they were all out.. so we just floated and got pounded by the waves. :) We also spent alot time walkin the beach... if your looking a the ocean take a walk to the left the beach around the point, its awsome over there the sand is softer and its a wide beach... not alot of people over there... we tried to go snorkeling but that was a bust because of the waves the water was so stirred up that i couldnt even see my hand extended infront of my face.

There were 4 of us that rented a SUV. What a trip that was.. Any driving skills you may have, take them and toss them right out the window.. :) they pass you on these little motorcycles on blind hills it was pretty nuts...

We took a trip over to the waterfalls ... i do recommend seeing that... but i do warn you, after you ride your donkey horse to the top of the mountain there is a bit of a foot hike down the other side to the bottom to get there to swim in the waterfall. You are given a tour guide 1per person who help you along the way. Both up and down to the waterfalls. After the horse ride back you are given fresh fruit (more pineapple) and coffee. That part of the trip was great.



We didnt check out the shows cause we were too tired every night.

I'm glad we only booked 1 week here at this resort, i think 2 weeks would have been far too long.

I can say for myself that I did have fun there.

If your a bit of a princess i wish you good luck at this resort. Just keep an open mind when your here, and Remember your on vacation... when all else fails have another drink and some pineapple..:)

Interesting vacation!!! We stayed at the VWS and I am not going to complain in the least! We got a villa room - TWO HUGE beds. We had plenty of hot water. And we barely needed it because it was so hot on days!! Fully air conditioned. Three fresh bath towels daily. We never had to complain about the room. We asked for three extra pillows for the second bed and it came the same day before we went to bed. The kids club was okay but we ended up not needing it because we enjoyed being with our kids! But they are re painting the kids club and making it better!!! The food was very nice. We especially loved the mexican night!!!! yummm.... we got to drink from a coconut and eat the coconut after too!!! The staff was amazing!!! They tried to speak english with us especially since we were having a hard time with the spanish. We had one waiter that had our table ready for us every evening! We went on two expeditions and they were awesome. We went to Las Terrenas and people we so very friendly. We had no issues what so ever!!! We spent a lot of time on the beach and the vendors weren't even an issue. If you don't want something you firmly say NO and they walk away!

This was a GREAT trip and very good resort for us! We have over 300 pictures. If you are interested in seeing the pics email us em@memoriesmadenew.com

Advertised as 1 hr from Samana Airport. Took 2 1/2 hours over narrow and treacheroud roads.

Hotel Room:

Definitely not a 4 star Hotel Room. Had to wait 2 days for showerhead to be fixed. Sink had a hole in it. Toilet ran constantly. No counterspace for anything. Towels Yellow stained and thin. Had to call several times for towels. Drawers could hardly be opened and smelled. Didn't even unpack oour suitcases. Beds smelled also. Only one lamp worked. The other was all broken and damaged.

Food was OK but very plain and mediocre. New Year's Eve buffet was great.

Bar Service: Only 2 small bars and only 1 bar tender on duty at a time (Even in the peak dinner times) Long wait for a drink.

Beautiful Beach. Could walk for miles. In my opinion this is the only thing this hotel has going for it.